BPF concerned group emerges
Concerned members establish PAG to save party from selfcentred NEC members Khama’s reconciliation efforts fail
Some concerned members of the troubled Botswana Patriotic Front ( BPF) have now set up a Patriots Action Group ( PAG) which they say will save the party from the selfcentred National Executive Committee ( NEC) members.
The PAG will be represented by its Action Committee which is made up of Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Vice Secretary and three members. The PAG comes into existence hardly a week before the BPF goes for its scheduled elective congress in Tati Siding, where the party is expected to vote into office a new NEC.
There has been a protracted power struggle within the BPF NEC ahead of the congress which recently resulted in a legal suit which barred suspended President Biggie Butale from declaring himself as the substantive president of the party. A letter written to party structures indicated that after realising that some members of the NEC have placed self- interest before the party and the nation, concerned members of the BPF including representatives of MPs, councillors, structures and other members have found it necessary to form the PAG.
According to the letter, the new PAG represented by its Action Committee will convene activities aimed at bringing about stability and unity that will restore confidence and motivation in achieving party objectives.
According to the letter signed by representatives from both MPs, councillors and ordinary members, only last week, there was an opportunity for reconciliation when the Party Patron ex- president Ian Khama and the Party Vice President, Caroline Lesang, exchanged communication about having an NEC retreat to work on reconciliation. They say that the Patron was to invite NEC members to such a meeting, and he proposed the date of Saturday the 15th October 2022. However, the Party VP asked for another date in the following week as she said there were to be events in Mokubilo. “The Patron proposed the meeting for Tuesday 18th October to which the VP indicated she would respond after the NEC meeting that Saturday. Eventually she responded only on Monday the 17th October indicating there would now be another NEC meeting on Thursday the 20th October 2022 and that the Tuesday reconciliation meeting would not be possible.
“As this was not what was initially agreed between the patron and herself, and as reconciliation is urgent, the Patron responded to that effect, stating that reconciliation should precede any NEC meeting due to the urgency of the matter as there could be no prospects for any successful NEC meeting without unity and its inability to preside over party matters,” reads the letter dated 18th October 2022.
The concerned members argue that since there was no response given to the Patron by Tuesday this week on the reconciliation proposal, the MPs and Councillors have set up PAG to immediately commence activities among others to meet with all party structures, MPs and councillors to inform and consult them about the situation and receive recommendations, convene public meetings with patriots in different areas of the country for the same purpose to compile such recommendations to be presented at a conference of all party office bearers at a time to be announced at the completion of consultations, and at that conference provide a roadmap of party activities leading to an elective congress.